CLINTON COUNTY — The Major Case Squad of St. Louis has confirmed a Swansea man found dead last week in a retention pond on the west side of Centralia died from self-inflicted injuries.
According to Capt. Bruce Fleshren, Deputy Commander of the St. Louis Major Case Squad, Clinton County Sheriff Doug Maue, of The Clinton County Sheriff’s Department requested they investigate the death of Jeffrey M. Downs.
Downs was reported missing on March 6, after staying at the Best Western Motel located at 8145 Jolliff Bridge Rd in Centralia on Friday the 5th.
On Sunday the 7th, family members returned to the motel and discovered that there was video from Friday night that showed Downs on the patio of the motel and at approximately 6:40 p.m. he walked through a field towards a retention pond behind the motel.
The area was checked around the pond and a jacket was found in the water and a pack of cigarettes floating nearby. They recovered the jacket and found that it belonged to Downs. Centralia Police and Fire Departments responded and began to search the lake.
On Sunday the 7th in the morning a body was recovered by the Fire Department and identified as Jeffrey Downs.
Injuries were observed to the body and an autopsy was done on Wednesday the 10th. The autopsy indicated that the injuries to the body were not the result of an accident.
Because of the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Downs the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department asked for the assistance of the St. Louis Metropolitan Major Case Squad. 17 investigators then began working the case headquartered in Carlyle, IL.
Investigators arrived and conducted a thorough investigation over 3 days. The pond was searched for a possible weapon by the O’Fallon Underwater Recovery Team. The area around the pond was searched by K-9 trained search dogs for any weapons that could have been left but no weapon was found.
At this time the Major Case Squad was unable to determine that any foul play was involved in the death of Jeffrey M. Downs.
The results of this investigation indicate that Downs inflicted the wounds found on his body, including the fatal wound, causing his own death.